New Delhi:
Hours before the start of a ceasefire in the Gaza war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said they won’t be able “to move forward with the framework” until they get the list of hostages who Hamas will release.
“We will be unable to move forward with the framework until we receive the list of the hostages who will be released, as was agreed. Israel will not tolerate violations of the agreement. Hamas is solely responsible,” Mr Netanyahu said in a post on X in Hebrew.
In a televised address, Mr Netanyahu said Israel reserves the “right to resume war if necessary” with US support.
The ceasefire is scheduled to begin on Sunday morning, mediator Qatar said after Israel’s cabinet voted to approve the truce and hostage-prisoner release deal.
Since Qatar and the US, which mediated the deal along with Egypt, announced the agreement on Wednesday, Israeli strikes on Gaza have continued.
On Saturday, Gaza’s civil defence rescue agency said at least five members of a family were killed when a strike hit their tent in Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza, news agency AFP reported. Explosions were heard over Jerusalem after air raid sirens blared and the military said a projectile had been launched from Yemen, whose Iran-backed Huthi rebels say they support the Palestinians.
In more than 15 months of war between Hamas and Israel, there has been only one previous truce, for one week, in November 2023. That deal also saw the release of hostages held by the militants in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
Israel’s justice ministry earlier said 737 Palestinian prisoners and detainees would be freed as part of the deal’s first phase — none before 4 pm (1400 GMT) on Sunday.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani said an initial 42-day ceasefire would see 33 hostages released by militants in Gaza.
Sheikh Mohammed told Sky News the framework signed this week was the same as one agreed on December 23, adding it amounted to “13 months of a waste of negotiating details”.
The truce is to take effect on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration for a second term as US President.
Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war and resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Of the 251 people taken hostage, 94 are still in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has destroyed much of Gaza, killing 46,899 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.
With inputs from AFP
